Abstract: Henri Poincaré (polymath, mine engineer, set theory skeptic) conjectured that every simply connected, closed, 3-dimensional manifold is homeomorphic to the 3-sphere. It took mathematicians nearly a century to prove this theorem but many fewer years to come up with variations. What if we consider manifolds of dimension n? What if we consider more geometric structure?

In this talk, we will learn some general differential geometry, look at the smooth Poincaré conjecture: Every n-dimensional manifold homeomorphic to the n-sphere is diffeomorphic the n-sphere, and follow Milnor's discovery of exotic spheres in seven dimensions. No prerequisites will be assumed so don't be alarmed if you don't know all the words in these last two paragraphs.

There will be a bit of history, a couple of ball jokes, and some really cool math.

The Putnam Mathematics Competition is held annually on the first Saturday in December. This year's contest is on Saturday, December 2, 2017 between 8:00am-4:00pm in Harry Hickman Building 110. Lunch will be provided.

Registration is now closed but if you are still interested you may contact Dr. Dukes at dukes@uvic.ca in case a spot becomes available.

Let's Talk Science and the UVic Math Department have been working together to bring you a Math Escape! Enjoy a full day of testing your mind with card games, puzzles and 3D sculptures! Find the beauty in math!

If the grade range doesn't apply to you, we would also appreciate it if you could share these opportunity and registration links to other teachers in your schools or districts. Space is limited and registration will be closed once maximum capacity is reached. The students will come to the UVic campus for the morning and hear talks from experts in the field, meet inspirational mentors and role models and have fun with math!

The UVic Mathematics Competition is held annually in the fall. The 19th competition will be held on Tuesday, September 26, 2017 between 4:00-6:00 pm in the Harry Hickman Building 110. There are monetary prizes. To participate, just show up. The competition is open to all undergraduate students at UVic, including first year students. In the past some prizes were won by first year students.

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